4. Teach them how to stay safe online

Cyberbullying can be really hard for a child to deal with because they can feel like there’s no escape.

Don’t stop them from using the internet or their mobile phone.

It probably won’t help keep them safe and could stop them from telling you what’s happening.

There are various websites which have advice on online safety for young people but the NSPCC has championed Thinkuknow and a free app for Android users called Block’em that blocks unwanted calls and text messages from specified numbers. Their website also provides advice for iOS7 users.

5. Talk to your child’s school or club

If your child is being bullied, you can talk to their school.

It doesn’t matter whether the bullying is happening in school, outside or on the internet.

All schools have a responsibility to protect their pupils from bullying.

If your child is being bullied at a club, talk to the person in charge.

You should:

Arrange a meeting with the teacher or club organiser - you can bring another person along with you for support if you wish.

Take a notebook so you can jot down what’s said at the meeting.

Bring any evidence of the bullying that you have with you such as text messages, a record of incidents or screenshots of webpages (if the bullying is happening online).

Tell them what effect the bullying is having on your child, and make it clear you won’t tolerate the bullying.

Ask for a copy of the school or club’s anti-bullying policy, behaviour policy and complaints procedure. These may be available to you before the meeting on the school or club’s website.

Ask the teacher or organiser what action they will take making sure that all parties are in agreement.

After your meeting, arrange to speak to them again in the near future so you can see what progress has been made.

The school may inform the police if the bullying involves ongoing harassment and intimidation or a hate crime (such as racism or homophobia) but it’s best to speak to the school first.

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6. Take further action if the bullying continues

Write a letter of complaint to the head teacher or club organiser and arrange to meet with them to discuss the concerns.

Continue to keep a record of incidents with as much information as you can including: photographs of any physical injuries or damaged items the date, location and approximate time of each incident any contact (letters, emails etc) you have with the school or club.

What if the bullying continues after making a formal complaint to the head teacher?

If your child goes to a Maintained/State school

First write to the chair of governors at the school address:

The school office will be able to provide you with the chair’s name.

Explain the situation and include copies of letters between yourself and the school as well as any evidence of the bullying.

If this situation continues:

A formal complaint can be made to the Local Education Authority (LEA) in the area where the child goes to school.

If your child goes to a Free school or Academy

If you are unhappy with the head teacher’s response:

The academy or free school should organise a hearing with a panel, made up of at least three people not involved in the complaint, for further advice contact the Department for Education.

If your child goes to a Private school

First write to the chair of governors at the school address.

The school office will be able to provide you with the chair’s name.

Explain the situation and include copies of letters between yourself and the school as well as any evidence of the bullying.

If this situation continues:

A complaint can be made to the Department for Education who will consider reports of a major failure to ensure a child’s safety.

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7. Report online videos of bullying

Get in contact with the site the video’s been shared on as soon as possible.

Social networks are more likely to take the video down if the child involved in the video or their parents make the report.

Depending on their terms and conditions, they may be able to remove it.